How to Use the EAR Formula to Win Support, Funding, and Agreement in Business Presentations

Whenever we need collaboration, approval, budget, or buy-in, our instinct is to blurt out our recommendation immediately.
After all, we have already convinced ourselves the idea is logical, valuable, and necessary.

But the moment we present our raw idea, the audience—whether colleagues, bosses, or clients—instantly transforms into a wall of sceptics.
Their minds race ahead to:

• Why this won’t work

• Why this contradicts their experience

• Why this threatens their priorities

• Why this is risky

We lose them before we ever get to the rationale.

This is why the EAR formula—Event, Action, Result—is such a powerful persuasion tool, especially in Japan, where logic alone rarely wins the day and context matters greatly.

Mini-Summary: Blurting an idea triggers resistance; EAR eases listeners into your conclusion without activating their defence mechanisms.

EAR stands for:

• E — Event (the context that led you to your insight)

• A — Action (what you want them to do)

• R — Result (the single strongest benefit of taking that action)

The genius of EAR lies in its counterintuitive order.

Most presenters start with Action—their idea or recommendation.
EAR starts with Event, which positions you as a small target and lowers resistance.

Mini-Summary: EAR begins with story and context—not the request—so the audience arrives at your conclusion with you.

Your idea came from something you heard, read, or experienced.
The Event reconstructs that moment and brings the audience with you to the origin of your thinking.

This storytelling approach:

• Pulls listeners into your world

• Defuses defensiveness

• Establishes shared context

• Encourages them to reach the same conclusion before you say it

But the Event must be short and vivid—not a sprawling novel.

How to Craft an Effective Event

Use sensory anchors that instantly paint the scene:

• Season: “It was a freezing winter morning…”

• Location: “I was in our Osaka factory, standing next to Line 3…”

• People: Include characters the audience knows to boost credibility

• Situation: “We were in a tense budget review…”

These details help the listener visualize the exact environment where your realization occurred.

Mini-Summary: The Event pulls listeners into a shared mental movie—softening them before your request.

After telling the Event, you drop the Action quickly—within 5–10 seconds.
Just one action.
Not two, not three. One.

Examples:

• “So I recommend we run a three-month prototype.”

• “I propose we test this with our top five clients.”

• “I’m asking for approval to move forward with phase one.”

The moment you add multiple actions, the listener gets distracted and dilute the request.

Mini-Summary: Deliver only one clear, simple action—the brain cannot focus on multiple simultaneous requests.

After the Action comes the Result—the most powerful outcome if they say yes.

Not a list.
Not multiple benefits.
One blockbuster.

Examples:

• “If this works, we unlock a 30% revenue lift in year one.”

• “This will cut processing time by half—immediately.”

• “This reduces our risk exposure by 70%.”

Stick the landing and stop talking.
Silence forces the listener to think.

Mini-Summary: One massive benefit creates clarity and urgency—multiple benefits weaken the message.

EAR is corporate jujitsu.
Instead of confronting the audience head-on, you flow around their objections.

1. They cannot disagree with your context (Event)

They weren’t there. You were.
They cannot argue with your lived experience.

2. They listen all the way through before forming objections

You are telling a story. Their brains stay open.

3. The Action is logical because the Event prepared them for it

They often reach your conclusion before you say it.

4. The Result provides a compelling final push

A single benefit is easier to remember and harder to refuse.

Mini-Summary: EAR bypasses resistance by sequencing persuasion exactly the way the brain prefers to receive information.

• People interrupt

• Resistance spikes

• They focus on flaws, not your logic

• Your idea gets derailed halfway

• You sound unclear, disorganized, or pushy

• Your credibility takes a hit

EAR prevents all of this by controlling the flow of attention, logic, and emotion.

Mini-Summary: Without EAR, your best ideas never survive first contact with the audience.

• Start with the Event, not the request.

• Use sensory details to create a vivid mental picture.

• State one action clearly and quickly.

• Provide one blockbuster Result.

• Stop talking and let the silence work for you.

• EAR defuses objections before they form.

• Use EAR to win funding, support, approval, and collaboration.

Founded in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported leaders and organizations around the world for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. The Tokyo office, established in 1963, continues to serve both Japanese and multinational companies with world-class training solutions.